Dear brother, in Fiqh books, and after tackling Wudu (ablution), Ghusl (major ritual ablution), menstruation and the like of topics, the chapters which tackle Salah come next followed by the topic of Siyam. I will tackle Siyam before Salah because the blessed month of Ramadan is coming soon.

 Before tackling Siyam I have to remind you that Siyam consists of three types: Siyam of the mouth, Siyam of the limbs and Siyam of the heart, so see to which type your fasting belong. The Siyam of common people is of the 0 first type, which is refraining from eating, drinking and other matters which break one's fast. In this type of Siyam, people don't make crucial changes, as their habits stay the same, their manners stay the same and their connection with Allah keeps being cold and disconnected. As a result, they behave as if they never offered Siyam, and this type of Siyam is not considered a true one in Islam.

((Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink.))

[Tirmizi by Abu Hurairah]

 For common people, Siyam is one of their habitual activities. The person whose Siyam is of this type spends the whole day watching every new program on TV, and after he has his Iftar (refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast at the time of sunset, right at the time of Maghrib Adhan) he stays up till Suhoor (a meal eaten before dawn during Ramadan), has his Suhoor and sleeps. Siyam of those people is fruitless since it doesn't exalt them to the coveted level in the Sight of Allah, and Allah is not in need of this type of Siyam. Allah is not in need of an act of worship which starts with abstaining from eating and ends with eating.

 Siyam is a Divine command, however the Siyam of common people is just refraining from food, drinks and other matters which break Siyam, while their habits don't change, their manners are the same and they are still disconnected from Allah. Furthermore, they have temper in Ramadan because of fasting. Allah doesn't want this type of Siyam, and it is but the Siyam of the ignorant people who refrain only from eating and drinking, whereas the Siyam of the believers is the Siyam of their limbs (refraining from committing sins).The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((Five things nullify the fast and break ablution; lying, Gheebah, Nameemah, lustful gazes, and false oaths.))

Difference between resisting backsliding and continuing exalting:

 Siyam is the act of worship with which your soul exalts to a higher level in the Sight of Allah. As it is exalted, it will be purified, will derive its characteristics from Allah and will have sublime conducts. Concerning the Siyam of the heart, it is when the heart refrains from being interested in or busy with anything other than the Almighty Allay, and this is the Siyam of the Muttaqeen (pious people). Accordingly, we have the Siyam of Muslims, Siyam of believers and Siyam of Muttaqeen whose hearts are attached to and busy with Allah Alone:

I hope to find sweetness in You (O Allah)
when life becomes bitter
And I hope to find You pleased with me
when the people become angry
Let the connection between You and I
keep improving Even if it means
destroying the connection with the people
If Your love for me is true, then all shall be easy
because all that lies above the dust is only dust.***

 There is a big difference between resisting backsliding and continuing exalting. Some people spend their entire life trying not to backslide, and whenever their ownself longs for Muhkar (sins) they suppress it. Thus, they are in an ongoing struggle with their ownslf, because they haven't got acquainted with Allah, they haven’t tasted the sweetness of being close to Him nor have they tasted the sweetness of faith. This situation is called "resisting backsliding", and people who are in this situation fear Allah, and so they are in a non-stop fight against their ownself which yearn for committing sin. This ownself is "Al-Ammara Bisso'" which inauthors man to evil, and it is the ownslf of whoever has not got his ownself acquainted with Allah's religion, has never taught it Fiqh (orders and bans) and has never helped it be connected with Allah, but rather all he does is suppressing it constantly from committing sins. Consequently, it detaches itself from Allah and becomes sinful. Being sinful veils it from Allah, and this veil causes its misery. This is what "An-Nafs Al-Ammara Bisso'" means..

 The other kind of the ownslef is "An-Nafs Al-Lawwamah" self-reproaching; it is the believer's ownself who may stay up all night because he hurt someone by a word he said, because he backbit someone else or because he conveyed the words of a person to another and caused a fight between the two (this kind of act is Namimah, and is done by the Nammam.) The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

(( An-Nammam will never enter paradise))

 The ownself of this kind never lets man sleep whenever he does something wrong. Therefore, whenever he sins, he waitis eagerly for the next day in order to give a gift to this man and a gift to that one, and he will ask another person to forgive him feeling remorse for what he has done. The self-reproaching person is at a good rank. Allah says:

((I swear by the Day of Resurrection* And I swear by the self-reproaching person (a believer))

[An-Qiyamah, 1-2]

 Whoever is self-reproaching man is secured because his conscious is alive. While I was in one of Damascus markets on Friday, I saw people gathered around a man on the ground saying that he died, and a doctor on the scene said, "Yes he is dead." Like that dead person, man is considered dead spiritually speaking when he backbites, sins, speaks out on sins and sows dissention between two persons and after all he says to you, "What did I do?" This is the real dead man; it is the one whose conscious is dead.

((By the One in Whose Hand my soul is! If you do not commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah will certainly forgive them.))

[Tirmizi by Abu Hurairah]

 Those people feel guilty after they sin, but what does the person who has no conscious say to you? He says, "What did I do?" He might ruin everything, yet he says, "What did I do?" He even says, "Allah is the Ever-Forgiving and the Ever-Merciful".

The helpless is he who follows his desires and lives on wishful thinking:

 Two days ago, a person said to someone, "Why are you so rigid? Our Lord the Almighty said: ?Say: "O 'Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.? [Az-Zumar, 53]. The Almighty Allah said: "Despair not", while you are putting people in despair (by asking them to do this and not to do that)." When I was told about this debate I asked him to read the Ayat which follow the one he mentioned. The Almighty Allah says in the very next Ayah:

(( "And turn in repentance and in obedience with true Faith (Islamic Monotheism) to your Lord and submit to Him, (in Islam), before the torment comes upon you, then you will not be helped* "And follow the best of that which is sent down to you from your Lord (i.e. this Qur'an, do what it orders you to do and keep away from what it forbids), before the torment comes on you suddenly while you perceive not!"* Lest a person should say: "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allah (i.e. I have not done what Allah has ordered me to do), and I was indeed among those who mocked [at the truth! i.e. La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), the Qur'an, and Muhammad and at the faithful believers, etc.]))

[Az-Zumar, 54-56]

 This means that you should turn in repentance to Allah, to be submissive to Him by following His Orders lest a sudden torment comes upon you, so where is exactly the meaning, which that man indicated, about putting people in despair? Allah says:

((Then, verily! Your Lord for those who emigrated after they had been put to trials and thereafter strove hard and fought (for the Cause of Allah) and were patient, verily, your Lord afterward is, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.))

[An-Nahl, 110]

 You are dealing with Allah, so how come you think that you can be granted Paradise that is as wide as the heavens and earth by paying couple of nickels to a poor man or by offering two Rak'at without Wudoo? Keep in mind that Allah's merchandise is very expensive.

 Consider the example of someone who goes to a carpet shop in order to buy an expensive Persian carpet. If he asks the shop owner about its price, and he is told that it is 38 thousand lira, and the man says, "I have only 500 lira, so will you give it to me for that price?", the owner of the shop will be harsh on that customer and he will force him to leave. The same goes for someone who longs for Paradise, that is as wide as the heavens and earth, but he subdues himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of his vain desires.. This is nothing but weakness and foolishness:

((…and the foolish person is the one who subdues himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of his vain desires.))

 Nowadays, Muslims in the east and west are asking Allah for Paradise in every movement they make.. Also, they say, "We are slaves of Your Divine Ihsan (philanthropy) not slaves of trials", and sometimes they say, "O Lord, we are under the mercy of Your Forgiveness and Generosity". How dare they say such things, whereas Allah the Almighty says:

((This is the Paradise which you have been made to inherit because of your deeds which you used to do (in the life of the world).))

[Az-Zukhruf, 72]

((So, by your Lord (O Muhammad), We shall certainly call all of them to account.))

[Al-Hijr, 92]

 Some people even say the following Du'a (supplication), "O Allah, don't ask us about anything we did". How can they ask the Creator of everything not to ask them about anything they did? This Du'a contradicts the Quran, and it was never made by the Prophet, peace be upon him, so whoever makes such Du'a knows nothing about the Noble Quran.

Types of Siyam:

 I would like to repeat the point I mentioned above: The first type of Siyam is the Siyam of common people; it is the Siyam of the mouth (refraining from eating and drinking), the second type is the Siyam of the believers; it is the Siyam of the limbs (abstaining from committing sins) and the third type is the Siyam of the Muttaqeen; it is leaving everything and turning to Allah only. In order to know if you are one of those who perform the third type of Siyam, run the following test: if you spend 12 hours thinking about nothing but the Almighty Allah, then you are one of them, because what occupies your mind is Allah only. Allah says:

((O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.))

[Al-Ahzab, 41]

 Man might be silent, but he thinks about many things. If you travel to Aleppo, you keep silent before other people, but you think about million of things saying, "I will do this, I will do that, I will buy a house and I will get married" and so on. Thus, watch yourself and pay attention to what is going on in your mind while you are in Damascus going from one place to another by bus, for instance.. You will realize that your head is saturated with millions of stories. In the evening do a review to all these stories, and if you find out that they are all related to the worldly life, then you are in trouble.

((Whoever's concern was for worldly life, Allah will make his poverty between his eyes disunite him and he will not get anything from this worldly life except what has been written for him, and whoever's concern was the afterlife, Allah makes his richness between his eyes, rather his inner self, and the worldly life will come to him with compliance.))

 Hence, watch yourself, do you think about things related to the Hereafter? Are you afraid that you won't be amongst those who will succeed in it? Are you worried about your faith? Are you worried about your uprightness? Are you worried about your prayers (Salah)? Do you see yourself not good enough? Are you afraid of having little of hypocrisy in your manner? Do you shed tears whenever you hear a story about the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him? Are you impressed whenever you reauthor the Quran? Do you interact with the Ayaht in it? Have you ever thought about your position in the Sight of Allah? If your thoughts are of this kind, congratulation! In fact this is the Siyam of the heart from everything but the Almighty Allah.

 Again, the Siyam of common people is the Siyam of the mouth and the person who performs this kind of Siyam is like the camel which doesn't know why it was leashed or why it was unleashed. Those people happily say to you, "They declared that today is Ramadan, Kul Aam Wa Antum Bikhair ([May] you be well every year)." They also are happy with Eid, but where do they spend Eid? They head to Lattakia in order to spend it on its shores taking their Stereos with them to listen to music. Let me repeat: The hypocrite man is like a camel which doesn't know why it was leashed or why it was unleashed Hence, this kind of Siyam is the Siyam of the benighted common people, so we seek refuge with Allah from being one of them.

 Next lecture insha' Allah, we will start tackling the rulings of Siyam one by one paving the way for welcoming the blessed month of Ramadan.

***

Mind and its virtue:

 Let us move now to some quotes chosen from the book Ihya' Ulum-ud-Din by Imam Al-Ghazali. We tackled Al-Ilm (knowledge) topic in this book, the virtue of Al-Ilm, the virtue of seeking Al-Ilm, the virtue of teaching Al-Ilm and the characteristics of the sincere devoted Ulama' (people of knowledge). We finished with twelve characteristics during three months; we tackled one characteristic every week.

 Now we move on to an important chapter in this book: "The Virtue, the Honor, the Truth and the Sections of mind". Imam Al-Ghazali said, "Knowledge is like the fruit of a tree and it flows from intellect, or like the light of the sun or like the vision of the eye. Why should it not be honored since it is the cause of fortune in this world and the next?"

 Allah calls the mind "light", Allah says:

((Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east (i.e. neither it gets sun-rays only in the morning) nor of the west (i.e. nor it gets sun-rays only in the afternoon, but it is exposed to the sun all day long), whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! Allah guides to His Light whom He wills. And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of everything.))

[An-Nur, 35]

 Allah calls the mind "Ruhan" (an Inspiration, and a Mercy) as well, Allah says:

((And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) Ruhan (an Inspiration, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'an) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allah's religion of Islamic Monotheism).))

[Ash-Shura, 52]

 Notice how beautiful these descriptions are! Light, Ruhan, and life, Allah says:

((Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east (i.e. neither it gets sun-rays only in the morning) nor of the west (i.e. nor it gets sun-rays only in the afternoon, but it is exposed to the sun all day long), whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it. Light upon Light! Allah guides to His Light whom He wills. And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of everything.))

[An-Nur, 35]

 Also the Almighty Allah says:

((Allah is the Wali (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their Auliya (supporters and helpers) are Taghut [false deities and false leaders, etc.], they bring them out from light into darkness. Those are the dwellers of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever.))

[Al-Baqarah, 257]

Who is the prudent person?

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((Know the prudent amongst you is the one who obeys Allah))

[Zail Tareekh Baghdad, by Ibn An-Najar by Abu Hurairah]

 A man who doesn't pray, who drinks wine and who has Haram affairs with women will be considered benighted even though he might have the highest scientific degree in the world, because the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((The prudent amongst you is the one who obeys Allah even if he is ugly, weak, low class and wretched))

[Abu Dawood by Abu Hurairah]

 If you enter the office of a prominent employee and see the employee who is responsible for cleaning this office, and you notice his wretched clothes (they are not dirty but cheap) his ugly appearance, his weakness and the low class which he belongs to. Yet, he obeys Allah and follows the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, this person is considered prudent in the Sight of Allah. This man is just an orderly on the door of a very important employee who is elegantly dressed, who has a doctorate certification, whose room is very luxurious, who uses to philosophize things, who is pedantic and who is argumentative. If this later doesn't offer Salah, he disobeys Allah and he doesn't follow the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, he is not considered prudent in the Sight of Allah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((The prudent amongst you is the one who obeys Allah even if he is ugly, low class and wretched, whereas the ignorant is the one who disobeys Allah even if he is handsome, powerful, from the class of nobles, well-dressed, eloquent and fluent.))

 Therefore, all these characteristics which one may have are considered nothing as long as they are accompanied with disobedience towards Allah, and so they equal benightedness, but they are considered knowledge when they are accompanied with obedience towards Allah.

Difference between the fool and the evildoer:

((The noble Companions praised a man in front of the Prophet, peace be upon him, [and the Prophet, peace be upon him, was prudent as we all know] so when they exaggerated in praising that man, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "How is his reasoning?" The Companions answered, "O Messenger of Allah, we are telling you about his endeavor in performing the acts of worship, in performing his night prayers, in performing his prayers, in performing his Siyam and all sorts of good deeds and you are asking us about his reasoning? (What does this has to do with that?)". The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Verily, the fool commits more sins on account of their foolishness than the debaucherous."))

[Ihya' Ulum-ud-Din, by Anas]

 The bad effect of the man, who offers prayers, who offers Siyam, who performs a long morning laudation (Wird) and who prays Qiyam Al-Layl (night prayer), yet he is ignorant, he has poor reasoning and he makes mistakes, is more serious than the effect of someone who sins publicly. Moreover, the former might make people break away from Islam manifolds than the sinner. Do you know why ? Because people will never follow the sinner who says, "There is no Hereafter, so I can live as I wish, and herein lies cleverness". I seek refuge with Allah from this kind of saying. This sinner brags about his sins (he is not that serious on Islam). On the other hand, the person, who prays and offers Siyam, yet he wrongs you in a very bad way, lies to you, breaks his promises and cheats you in his selling and buying, will make you break away not only from him but also from his religion. The harmful effects of the benighted person's ignorance on Islam are more serious than the ones of the debaucherous sinner:

((Certainly, the Worshippers are rated in stages tomorrow and acquired nearness to their Lord according to their level of al-Aql (reasoning))

 When someone owns a structure of a house, he can go on finishing it by painting it, tiling its floor, providing it with electricity and water and furnishing it. He can make all these things because he owns the structure of the house, but what if he has no structure to begin with, yet he wants to bring everything necessary for the house? Why should he do that if he does not own the structure of the house? If it is the case with you, why are you buying paint and furniture while you don't own the house yet? What is the meaning of Qawam (structure) of something? It is the foundation of it. What is the point of worrying about cladding of the house before even buying it?

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

"Man's Qawam is his reasoning"

 Therefore, he who has no reasoning actually has nothing no matter how elegant he looks or how beautiful his house is. Reasoning is man's Qawam, and the evidence which proves having reasoning is manifested in obeying Allah and fearing Him. Unless man does so, he has not reasoning as he has no Qawam. Regarding refrigerator, its Qawan is the motor, so if someone buys a cheap refrigerator with no motor thinking that he saves some money by doing this, he wasts his money because without the motor the refrigerator does not work. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

"Man's Qawam is his reasoning"

 If man lacks reasoning, he lacks everything. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((The best earning man can get is reasoning which guides him to the right path and prevents him committing sins.))

[Bughyet Al-Bahith Anil Zawa'ed, Masnad Al-Harith by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab]

 The earning (investment) can take many forms; it can be assets one has (lands, buildings, agricultural properties or farms) and it can be liquid money of all currencies, whereas the earning which is denoted by the Prophet, peace be upon him, is of a different nature, he, peace be upon him, said:

((The best earning (investment) man can get is reasoning, which guides him to the right path and prevents him from committing sins, and man's faith never becomes complete nor does his religion become upright unless his reasoning is complete.))

 This means that reasoning is the foundation. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((Blessed is Allah who divided and assigned the Aql (Intellect) amongst His slaves, two men may be equal in their deeds (e.g. righteousness or fasting or prayers), yet they differ in the measure of the Aql (Intellect) like a small speck next to Uhud Mountain, and there is no portion which Allah divided (amongst the people) more superior than Aql (Intellect) and Yaqin (Certitude).))

[Tirmizi from the narration of Tawoos]

 Also, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((A believer will attain by his good behavior the rank of one who prays during the night and observes fasting during the day, and man's good conducts will not be perfect unless his reasoning is perfect, only then his faith will be perfect, he will obey His Lord and disobey Allah's enemy))

[Ahmad by Ayshah]

Reasoning is a cornerstone:

 These series of the abovementioned As7adeth shows that reasoning is a cornerstone (in the human being). When someone asks a brother of his, who attended a Friday sermon saying, "What benefits did you get from these lectures? Tell us something about the Friday Khutbah which you attended?", he is testing man's reasoning. Some people answer these questions by saying, "What a lecturer it was! Also, upon being asked, "What did the lecturer said?", someone answers, "He delivered an outstanding Khutbah." If he is asked, "What do you remember of that Khutbah?", he answers,:It was really a good Khutbah", and when he is asked, "Do not you remember any Ayah or a Hadith which was mentioned in it?", he answers, "This lecturer is unrivaled". Where is the reasoning of such a person? At least he should remember an Ayah or a Hadith. Whenever someone attends a religious session, he should make benefit from it, because time is precious, or else, and due to the precious nature of time, he would better go home and spend his time sleeping if he can't comprehend what he heard.

((…and man's good conducts will not be perfect unless his reasoning is perfect, only then his faith will be perfect, he will obey His Lord and disobey Allah's enemy))

 When Muslims came back from Uhud Battle, the Prophet, peace be upon him, overheard people saying:

((This man was braver than that man, and such and such person didn't fight well as such and such person, so the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "This is something you have no knowledge of", they said: How so messenger of Allah? The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: They fought according to each one's portion of intellect, and their victory and intentions were according to their intellect))

[Ibn AlMujber by Abu Hurairah]

 If someone says, "Had I fought in a better manner, people would have praised me", he has a problem with his reasoning, and his life will be destroyed. Unlike him, whoever whose purpose is raise high the word of Allah within the abilities of his reasoning, he will be rewarded by Allah abundantly.

((Narrated Aysah, may Allah be pleased with her, I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what makes people favored over other ones in the worldly life?" He answered: "It is reasoning", then I asked: "How about in the Hereafter?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, answered: "It is reasoning", to which I said: "Would not people be called to account according to their deeds? The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "O Ayshah, did not they offer deeds but according to what Allah has given them from reasoning?"))

 Their deeds are according to Allah have given from reasoning, and thus people differ in their reasoning in the worldly life and in the Hereafter.

Reasoning is acquired and man is responsible for using it:

 Let me ask you this question: Is reasoning acquired or congenital? This is actually a tricky question, because if we say reasoning is congenital, then no one should be held accountable for his lack of reasoning. Also, our assumption indicates that Allah has given reasoning randomly to people, so a man may get 80% of reasoning while another one get only 10% and so on. This is absolutely not the case; reasoning is acquired by man. It is there, but it is up to you to use it or lose it. The most idiotic person in the Hereafter might be the most brilliant one in the worldly life. Hence, reasoning exists in each one of us, and the debate is about using it or not, not about its existence.

((Allah created Al-'Aql (Intellect) first and said to it: "Come forward" and it came forward, then Allah told it, "Go backwards" and it went backwards." By My own Might and Glory, "I have not created any creation more loved by Me other than you (Aql). With you I will praise! And with you I will endow! With you I will take and with you I will give!"))

Your value in the Sight of Allah is based on your reasoning:

 In concise, your value in the Sight of Allah is based on your reasoning, so this matter is crystal clear:

((The most beloved amongst the believers to the Almighty Allah is the one who is totally devoted to obeying Allah, who offers pieces of advice to mankind and whose reasoning is complete. He can with this reasoning offers himself advice and has insight. Also, he can use it as long as he lives, and so he succeeds and prospers.))

[Ibn Al-Mujbar from Ibn Umar's Hadith]

 Also the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((The one with most perfect reasoning is the one who fears Allah the most))

[Ibn Al-Mujbar by Hadith of Abi Qatadah]

 This chapter is about the mind and its value, and we are not interested in reading As7adeth as much we are concerned with the benefit we get from them. The reasoning of each person is tested according to how much he is obedient to the Almighty Allah. Every sin has its own Divine punishment, and every good deed has its own reward. Therefore, he, who is totally upright and who offers good deeds is prudent, and he is the otherwise if there is a flaw in his uprightness. I used to give the following example, and I think it is suitable to our lecture. The bus of Muhajereen (a place in Damascus) used to stop in Al-Marjeh Square in the days of hot summer facing the east, so most passengers (who were heading to Muhajereen) take the shaded side of the bus. I used to take that bus and tested the reasoning of people, so some of them took the sunny side of the bus, while sh3er took the shaded one of it. Those who took the shaded side actually inactivated their reasoning, while the ones who took the sunny side of the bus used their reasoning, because the bus had to turn 180 degree to go to Muhajereen. Those who sat in the shade probably accused the ones who took the sunny side of being idiots, but after a while they would realize how wrong they were when the bus turned and the sun of July would burn their faces till they reached Muhajereen. Those who took the sunny side of the bus, on the other hand, were in shade all along the road.

 The definition of mind (reasoning) is the following: It is to reach the thing (with your mind) before reaching it (with your body). Thus, when we say that this person is brilliant, what does that mean? It means that he can foresee the future. Take for example the brilliant student; he visions the exams and his fear of it though he is still in the beginning of the academic year, and so he studies very hard and knows how to prepare for the exams.

 Two fishermen passed by a brook in which there were three fishes, one of them was clever, the second was cleverer and the third was retarded (dunce). Upon being spotted by the two fishermen, the latter set up a date on which they would come back with their fishing nets in order to fish out those fishes. The cleverer fish lived the future (the prudent only lives the future), for it was cautious and attentive, and it said to itself, "The prudent should plan for things before they happen". Is there anyone in here who will not die including me? Of course there is none. Hence, the prudent should plan for his life before death comes, whereas the fool is the one who is surprised by death, Allah says:

((So he (the disbeliever) neither believed (in this Qur'an, in the Message of Muhammad) nor prayed!* But on the contrary, he belied (this Qur'an and the Message of Muhammad) and turned away!* Then he walked in full pride to his family admiring himself!))

[Al-Qiyamah, 31-33]

 We go on with the anecdote, the cleverer fish said, "The prudent should plan for things before they happen", and thus it stopped doing anything except trying to get out of the place where water comes from till it was out of the brook and it was saved, while the less clever one lived its present and stayed still in its pace till the fishermen came back. It seemed that there was an opening between the river and the brook, and that fish was sure that it can pass through it anytime, so it headed to get out from that opening where its former fellow fish went out from. However, the opening was blocked, so it said to itself, "I am doomed ( this is the end of recklessness and only the prudent is the one who doesn't give up hope and who makes use of good opinion), and it got nervous being sure that it was about to die. Nevertheless, it tried a trick that might or might not work. It pretended to be dead, and it floated on the surface of the water, so one of the two fishermen caught it and put it on the ground between the river and the brook. In the blink of an eye it jumped to the river and was saved. Regarding, the retarded one, it was hesitant and confused about what to do till it was fished out.

 The summary of the lesson lies in the Hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him:

((A wise man is the one who calls himself to account (and refrains from doing evil deeds) and does noble deeds to benefit him after death; and the foolish person is the one who subdues himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of his vain desires.))

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, defined the wise man as the one who calls himself to account (and refrains from doing evil deeds) and does noble deeds to benefit him after death, and the foolish person is the one who subdues himself to his temptations and desires and says, "I'll do what all other people do. Why not? Am I not one of those people? Is it possible that all these people will be sent to the Hellfire?" Well all these sayings are nonsense, for Allah's Orders are clear, so you should not imitate the misbehavior of anyone. Look after yourselves and keep in mind the foolish person is the one who subdues himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of his vain desires.
***

Thâbit bin Qays:

 Thabit Ibn Qays was a chieftain of the Khazraj and therefore a man of considerable influence in Yathrib. He was known for the sharpness of his mind and the power of his oratory. Not to mention that he was orotund, so whenever he spoke he caught the attention of his listeners, and he was amongst those who embraced Islam in its early stages. He became a Muslim at the hands of Mus'ab bin Umayr whose cool and persuasive logic and the sweetness and beauty of his recital of the Quran proved irresistible. Accordingly, Thabit's heart fell for faith, so he honored himself by embracing Islam following the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived in Madinah after the historic Hijrah, Thabit and a great gathering of horsemen welcomed him warmly. In fact whoever was generous to the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, was generous to the Almighty Allah. Thus, if you honor your fellow believer, you honor the Almighty Allah according to the following Hadith:

((Whoever honors a Muslim has verily honored the Exalted Allah.))

[Al-Asbahani in His Targheeb, by Jabir]

 After welcoming the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his friend As-Siddeeq, Thabit delivered a speech in the presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companion, Abu Bakr AS-Siddeeq. He began with giving praise to Allah Almighty and invoking peace and blessings on His Prophet, peace be upon him, and ended up with saying "We give our pledge to you, O Messenger of Allah, that we would protect you from all that we protect ourselves, our children and our wives. What would then be our reward for this?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, "Al-Jannah - Paradise!" When the Yathribites heard the word "Al-Jannah" their faces beamed with happiness and exauthorment and their response was, "We are pleased, O Messenger of Allah! We are pleased, O Messenger of Allah." From that day on the Prophet, peace be upon him, made Thabit Ibn Qays his Khatib, just as Hassan Ibn Thabit was his poet. When delegations of Arabs came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, to show off their brilliance in poetry and the strength of their oratory skills which the Arabs took great pride in, he, peace be upon him, would call upon Thabit Ibn Qays to challenge their orators and Hassan Ibn Thabit to vaunt his poems before their poets.

The Prophet's great glad tidings to Thâbit bin Qays:

 Thabit was the private Khatib of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and he was a believer with a profound faith in Allah. His consciousness and fear of Allah was true and strong, so he was cautious of saying or doing anything that would incur the wrath of Allah the Almighty. One day the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw him sad, dejected and afraid. His extremities were shivering out of fear. "What's wrong with you, O Abu Muhammad?" asked the Prophet. "I fear that I might be destroyed, O Messenger of Allah," he said. [Most people nowadays commit deadly sins, yet they say that they get very deep sleep. As if they did nothing wrong at all. The conscious of those people is dead] "And why?" asked the Prophet, peace be upon him. "Allah Almighty," he said, "has prohibited us from desiring to be praised for what we did not do, but I find myself liking praise. He has prohibited us from being proud and I find myself tending towards vanity." This was the time when the verse of the Quran was revealed: "Indeed, Allah does not love any arrogant boaster." The Prophet, peace be on him, then tried to calm his anxieties and allay his fears and eventually said to him, "O Thabit, aren't you pleased to live as someone who is praised, and to die as a martyr and to enter Paradise?" Thabit's face beamed with happiness and joy and he said, "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah." "Indeed, that shall be yours," replied the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
 The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, once brought a glad tiding to one of the Companions whose name was Ukkashah in front of another Companion telling him that he would be one of the people of Paradise, so the other Companion asked, "What about me?"Had the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "You are not" the Companion would have been frustrated, and had he, peace be upon him, said, "You are" then he would have lain to him. Therefore, his polite answer was as follows, "Ukkashah took the glad tiding first". As for Thabit Ibn Qays, the Prophet, peace be upon him, told him that he would be in Paradise.
Thabit became sad and crest-fallen, when the following Ayah was revealed:

((O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not.))

[Al-Hujuraat, 2]

 Upon hearing these words, Qays kept away from the meetings and gatherings of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in spite of his great love for him and his hitherto constant presence in his company. He stayed in his house without ever leaving it except for the performance of the obligatory Salat. The Prophet, peace be upon him, missed his presence and evidently asked for information about him. A man from the Ansar volunteered and went to Thabit's house. He found Thabit sitting in his house, sad and dejected, with his head bowed low.
 "What's the matter with you?" asked the man. "It's bad," replied Thabit. "You know that I am a man with a loud voice and that my voice is far louder than that of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. And you know what has been revealed in the Quran. The only result for me is that my deeds will come to naught and I will be among the people who go to the fire of hell."
 The man returned to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and told him what he had seen and heard and the Prophet, peace be upon him, instructed him to return to Thabit and say, "You are not among the people who will go to the fire of hell but you will be among the people of Paradise."
 That was a glad tiding from the Prophet, peace be upon him, to Thabit, and he kept longing for it his entire life. Do we have such worries? This is the scale of people of Paradise, who are the kings of the Hereafter. Ask yourselves, do we have such worries? Who amongst us worries about his destiny? The one, who does, will have the glad tiding, and may Allah help whoever has no concerns about his destiny.

The story of the martyrdom of Thâbit bin Qays:

 Thabit bin Qays participated in all battles except Badr, and he tried to acquire Shahada (martyrdom) which he was portended by the Prophet, peace be upon him, but he missed it every time till he gained it in the Battle of Yamama (Riddah battles) between Muslims and Musailamah Al-Kadhdhab when Abu Bakr was the Khalifah of Muslims. In that battle, Thabit bin Qays was the leader of Ansar soldiers, whereas Mawla Abi Hadhifah was the leader of Muhajereen soldiers, and Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed was the leader of the entire Muslims' army including Ansar, Muhajereen and Bedouins. It seemed at that time that the battle was going for the favor of Musailamah to such an extent that his soldiers were able to break in the tent of Khalid, cut its ropes and tear it apart. Upon seeing the erosion of Muslims' army, Thabit became sad and his chest was full of hardship after what happened, so he put on his hanut and shrouds and said, "O Muslims, We would never do so (i.e. flee) in the company of Allah's Apostle. How bad the habits you have acquired from your enemies!" He looked therein to the sky and said, "O Allah! Excuse these people (i.e., the Muslims) for what they have done, and I am clear from what the pagans have done (i.e. Musailamah)", then he fought shoulder to shoulder with other Muslims' fighters like Al-Bara'a Ibn Malik Al-Ansari, Zaid Ibn Al-Khattab (the brother of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab) and sh3er. He kept fighting with his sword in all directions till he was heavily wounded and he fell on the ground of combat as a martyr just like the Prophet, peace be upon him, said. The story didn't end in this event although he died.

The will of Thâbit bin Qays:

 Let me tell you the strangest story you might hear. When Thabit Ibn Qays died he was wearing a very expensive chain mail armor suit, so one of the Muslims - who had just recently embraced Islam – passed by him and took it for himself. One night after Thabit martyred, one of the Muslims saw Thabit in a dream, saying to him, "I am Thabit bin Qays, did you recognize me?" The man said, "Yes, I did", then Thabit said, "I shall give you a piece of advice, so do not say that this is only a dream and leave off what I say. When I was killed yesterday, a man from the Muslims passed by me and took my chain mail coat, and he is staying in one of the furthest houses. In front of his tent there is a horse that he is preparing to be trained. On top of the armor is a twine on which is a saddle. Thus, go to Khalid and tell him to send someone to retrieve it. Also, when you get back to Madinah tell the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, sallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq [radiyallahu 'anhu], and inform him that I owe so and so such and such, and to emancipate my slave, 'so and so'…."

 The man woke up and went to Khalid to tell him about his dream, so Khalid sent someone to retrieve the chain mail armor suit, and he found it exactly where Thabit described. Upon coming back to Madinah Khalid told Abu Bakr of the event and the dream of Thabit, so Abu Bakr put it in Thabet's will. Actually, nobody's will was altered and executed after his death besides Thabit Ibn Qays. People's will is generally executed after their death, but this will was altered by Thabit after his death and was executed. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((By Him in Whose Hand is my life if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your roads.))

 These (Divinely blessed) positions are missed nowadays, because people inclined to worldly life and the vanity of life took over their hearts. If they forsake the worldly life, you will hear extraordinary stories of that kind.

 A man used to accompany a sincere scholar, but people said bad things about this scholar which made the man confused and have doubts about the scholar. Therefore, before he went to sleep he said, "O Lord, if this scholar is on the right path, then let me know. I think that he is". He went to sleep, and he dreamed that night of the Prophet, peace be upon him, saying to him, "By Him in Whose Hand is my life, this scholar brought my Sunnah to life after my death".

 Accordingly, if you are honest enough, you will be able to see the Prophet, peace be upon him, and to hear from him whenever you have a delicate question to which you need a satisfying answer, and the story of the will of our master Thabit bin Qays is enough evidence. Allah opens the hearts of some people and makes their dreams come true like the clear dawn brining them glad tidings. However, loving the worldly life is the mother of all sins; your excessive love for worldly things makes you blind and deaf.

 May Allah be pleased with Thabit bin Qays, and may Allah please him and grant him the highest rank in Paradise. In brief, Thabit was a pious man and he was keen on pleasing the Almighty Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him. Because of being worried about his destiny, now he is enjoying being in Paradise, unlike other people who live secured and will be worried (about their destiny) on the Day of Resurrection.
***

Getting acquainted with the Almighty Allah is the base of Islam:

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said in the following Noble Hadith:

((Getting acquainted with Allah is the best of deeds))

[Kanz AlUmmal by Anas]

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, called it "deed", so where does that leave you? Attend a religious session in order to get acquainted with the Almighty Allah, as it will be the best of deeds, but do you know why? The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((Verily, that deed is useful which is coupled with knowledge, being great or small in amount, and that deed is harmful which is coupled with ignorance, being great or small in quantity.))

 Hence, every deed, no matter how small it is, is useful as long as it is coupled with Islamic knowledge, and every deed, no matter how great it is, is useless as long as it is coupled with ignorance. This is the gist of getting acquainted with Allah:

((Verily, that deed is useful which is coupled with knowledge, being great or small in amount, and that deed is harmful which is coupled with ignorance, being great or small in quantity.))

 That deed is harmful, because it is based on ignorance.

 If someone built a Masjid, but he doesn't know Allah and he is a sinner, the path to Allah is blocked, whereas another man might pay only one lira, but he knows the Almighty Allah, and so this lira will exalt him to the highest rank in Paradise. It is all about getting acquainted with Allah which is the gist of Islam.